The Algarve Ecovia, a pilot cycle track project in Portugal, which will join Sagres to Vila Real de Santo António over a length of 214 kilometres, will be opened next November. Lusa visited some of the stretches of the Ecovia that are already paved and have hard shoulders and saw that many cyclists are already following the signs on the ecological track, in municipalities such as Tavira, Lagoa and Silves.

Remnants from the region’s quarries, other aggregate and treated wood are some of the raw materials used to build some stretches of the track from scratch, as well as to build the 21 bridges planned over the 214 kilometres.

Secondary roads and abandoned or disused rural paths are being restored, realigned and tidied up to welcome cyclists and other lovers of environmentally friendly transport.

The cleaning of water courses and removal of rubble and other physical barriers has also been borne in mind, because the Ecovia is not only an ecological journey along the coast of the Algarve, but also a way to discover golf courses, green woods, lively city centres and beaches, as can be seen in Silves near the Lagoa dos Salgados, where a lake can be seen on one side and the sand and the sea on the other.

Signs showing the route of the Ecovia, kilometre-stones to inform the fire service or medical emergency teams where you are in case of accident and even panels with information in two languages about points of interest such as beaches, monuments or camp sites, everything is ready to be positioned on the new “Via Algarvia”.

Jorge Coelho, the architect responsible for coordinating the project, which involves 12 of the 16 Algarve municipalities, told the Lusa agency that by next summer most stretches of the Ecovia should be complete and ready to be tried out by cyclists and walkers.

Jorge Coelho explained, however, that the official opening would not take place until the time of the “St Martin’s Summer”, probably on 9th, 10th and 11th November, a time when there are fewer events and less of a focus on sun and beach, and people and the media will be more open to publicity about what is a pioneering project in Portugal.

The architect Jorge Coelho said that over the 214 kilometres there would only be one stretch, of about 8 kilometres between Faro and Olhão, which could break the continuity of the cycle track, because it had been difficult to negotiate with the owners of private property to allow the track to pass through those pieces of land.

One solution could be to use a truck coupled to CP trains (the National Railway Network) on a daily basis so that cyclists can travel with their bikes, calm in the knowledge that they are not breaking their ecological principles.

The architect said that the truck used to be used for transporting mail, but today it could be used to avoid interrupting the Ecovia.

The man in charge of the project said that the ecological track will be 1 metre 80 wide over almost its entire length, but it some places it will be narrower, and will climb and wind a bit.

The first kilometre of the Ecovia starts beside the Forte do Farol, in São Vicente (Sagres), and Vila Real de Santo António will be where the route comes to an end, as indicated by the kilometre stone showing 214.

Sérgio Inácio, of the projects division of the Algarve Metropolitan Committee, the body coordinating the project, explained that, with a budget of three million euros, the project is co-financed by Portuguese and EU funds, such as the Operational Programme for the Algarve (ProAlgarve), the Cross-Border Programme Interreg and the Programme of Public Investments of Tourist Interest for the Algarve (PIPITAL).

source: algarve observer